For a very long time, no one told African American women that they could fly, so there are very few of them as commercial pilots. This website is for inspiring women to fly. Flying being defined as succeeding. Succeeding defined however you decide. We are simply here to tell you sistergirlfriend, YOU CAN FLY!

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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Flying with habits

Every Monday at 4:30am I meet some of my 50+ and fabulous women friends and we run 5.4 miles over the Copper River bridge. It has become a habit. A very good habit. Yes, I cringe when the alarm goes off. Yes, I have to drag myself out of the bed from time to time, but once I am up I am ready to go. Plus I should not complain because I live 10 minutes from the bridge and they have to drive about 30 minutes.

We catch up while huffing and often puffing up the steep incline. We high five each other at the top of each span. Once we touch the pole on the Charleston side (it does not count if you do not touch it) we turn around and head back. We run too early to see the sun rise over the water or to see dolphins. We do see a cargo ship with its accompanying tug boat every now and then.

It is all beautiful even in the darkness perhaps because of the darkness. And yet there are the scary moments when shadows appear to morph into monsters, you know the kind that hide under your bed. And sometimes there is an actual person who literally runs out of the shadows.

Yes, there are those people who say we are crazy and muse that they would never get up to run that early. Generally those are the people who do not exercise at all so I do not heed their advice at all.

I will admit that I feel some peer pressure to get up and run at 4:30am. But I do not mind. I love the camaraderie between us. There is something that bounds us together before the sun comes up. And I would not give that up for the world.

Great is the power of habit. It teaches us to bear fatigue and to despise wounds and pain.

Marcus Tullius Cicero

What are the habits that you have formed? What is it that keeps you doing them? Are there bad habits that you should shed?